US hit IS with largest non-nuclear bomb ever usedWASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in Afghanistan on Thursday struck an Islamic State tunnel complex in eastern Afghanistan with "the mother of all bombs," the largest non-nuclear weapon ever used in combat by the U.S. military, Pentagon officials said. The bomb, known officially as a GBU-43B, or massive ordnance air blast weapon, unleashes 11 tons of explosives. When it was developed in the early 2000s, the Pentagon did a formal review of legal ju...

Ford says hybrid police car catches bad guys, saves gas tooDEARBORN, Mich. — The next time the cops chase you down for speeding, they could be driving a fuel-efficient gas-electric hybrid. Ford Motor Co., which sells more police vehicles in the U.S. than any other automaker, says it will offer a police pursuit version of the hybrid Fusion midsize sedan, in response to requests from cities nationwide. The new car, with its 2-Liter four-cylinder engine and 1.4 kilowatt lithium-ion battery, is expected t...

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By TOM KRISHER and MIKE HOUSEHOLDER, Associated PressAssociated Press

Liz Weston: Are you financially healthy?Traditional financial literacy efforts haven't been a rousing success. Research from Harvard Business School shows that even Americans who are taught personal finance in school don't seem to save more or manage credit better than anyone else. That's why many experts concerned about Americans' money habits — including regulators such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and financial think tanks such as the Center for Financial Services ...

Demand booming on college campuses for creative writingNEW HAVEN, Conn. — Some credit the rise of social media. Others attribute it to a flourishing culture of self-expression. Whatever the reason, colleges across the United States are seeing a boom in demand for courses on creative writing. Colleges are adding writing programs to accommodate interest in what has become the rarest of fields in the humanities — a sector that is growing, rather than losing students to science and technology. The num...

California governor declares historic drought over _ for nowFRESNO, Calif. — Thirsty California lawns faded to brown from a lack of water in four extraordinarily dry years have revived to bright green in neighborhoods across the state. Dry riverbeds of sand and tumbleweeds that snake their way through farmers' fields now charge with water swelling up their banks. Scenes like these and many others prompted California Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday to declare an end to the state's drought emergency that had ...

Housing options help autistic adults find independenceDALLAS — Masha Gregory was nervous to move out of her parents' home and into her own place, where the 26-year-old Pennsylvania woman worried about making friends and being away from her parents. But after living in her own apartment at a complex that focuses on adults with autism, she's made new friends and found she loves her independence. "It was great to move out because I have my own life now," said Gregory, who lives in a Pittsburgh-area ...

Charleston church shooter pleads guilty to state chargesCHARLESTON, S.C.— Convicted Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof was given nine consecutive life sentences in state prison after he pleaded guilty to state murder charges Monday, leaving him to await execution in a federal prison and sparing his victims and their families the burden of a second trial. Judge J.C. Nicholson imposed the sentences following a hearing in which church members and Roof's grandfather testified about the personal toll...

Thousands march for immigrant rights in Dallas DALLAS— Thousands of people marched and rallied in downtown Dallas on Sunday to call for an overhaul of the nation's immigration system and end to what organizers said is an aggressive deportation policy. Organizers who called Sunday's event the "Dallas Mega March" said President Donald Trump's executive orders restricting travel from predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East are discriminatory. They also want an end to hate crimes and...

Gorsuch pledges to be 'servant' of ConstitutionWASHINGTON— The Latest on the swearing-in of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court (all times local): 11:22 a.m. Justice Neil Gorsuch is thanking his former law clerks, family and friends as he is sworn into the Supreme Court during a White House ceremony. Gorsuch says of his former law clerks, "your names are etched in my heart forever." The new justice joined President Donald Trump, members of the nation's high court and his family for a Rose Ga...

Officials: Teacher, 2 students shot at San Bernardino schoolSAN BERNARDINO, Calif.— Four people were shot Monday in an apparent murder-suicide inside an elementary school classroom in San Bernardino, including a teacher and two students, police and school officials said. Two students were airlifted to a hospital after what's believed to be a domestic dispute, San Bernardino City Unified School District spokeswoman Maria Garcia tells news station KNBC-TV. San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan said ...

Legislators spar over prayerDOVER, Del. -- An opening prayer reading from the Quran at the Delaware state Senate drew a sharp rebuke Wednesday from a Republican lawmaker, who said the Muslim holy book calls for the death of Americans. Two representatives from the Masjid Isa Ibn-e-Maryam mosque in Newark were invited to the session to deliver the prayer. Imam Tarek Ewis chanted a verse in Arabic before Naveed Baqir, executive director of the Delaware Council on Global and...

U.S. bombs Syrian air baseWASHINGTON -- The United States blasted a Syrian air base with a barrage of cruise missiles Thursday night in fiery retaliation for this week's gruesome chemical weapons attack against civilians. President Donald Trump cast the U.S. assault as vital to deter future use of poison gas and called on other nations to join in seeking "to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria." It was the first direct American assault on the Syrian government and...

Illinois moves to implement internet privacy safeguardsSPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Democratic lawmakers in Illinois are considering implementing their own internet safeguards at the state level after Republicans in Washington voted to roll back Obama-era internet privacy protections that were to take effect later this year. An Illinois House committee on Thursday endorsed two online privacy measures, including one that would allow people to find out what information companies such as Google and Facebook h...

Debate on Keystone renewedDALLAS -- President Donald Trump is calling his administration's approval of the Keystone XL pipeline a new era for American energy policy. As expected, the State Department reversed a decision by the Obama administration and favored energy development over environmentalists' objections to the pipeline, which will carry thick Canadian crude oil to Nebraska, where it can flow on to refineries along the Gulf Coast. Trump on Friday called it "a g...

Your internet browsing habits for sale? House votes to block online privacy ruleWASHINGTON — The House voted Tuesday to block online privacy regulations issued during the final months of the Obama administration, a first step toward allowing internet providers such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon to sell the browsing habits of their customers. The Federal Communications Commission rule was designed to give consumers greater control over how internet service providers share information. But critics said the rule would have ad...

Mom: Teen daughter afraid to come home after Chicago attackCHICAGO — The mother of a 15-year-old girl who authorities say was sexually assaulted in an attack streamed live on Facebook said Wednesday that her daughter has received online threats since it happened and that neighborhood kids have been joking about it and harassing her family. The woman was reunited with her daughter on Tuesday, two days after the girl went missing and a day after police learned of the attack. She said her daughter is sta...

Chuck Berry's spirit lives on through countless songsNEW YORK— Behind so many great rock bands and rock songs looms the music of Chuck Berry. Like the time a teenage Keith Richards ran into a childhood friend, Mick Jagger, at a train station in England and discovered they were musical soul mates. "You know I was keen on Chuck Berry and I thought I was the only fan for miles," Richards wrote to a relative in April 1962. "I was holding one of Chuck's records when a guy I knew at primary school ......

A Muppet with autism to be welcomed soon on 'Sesame Street'NEW YORK — Folks on Sesame Street have a way of making everyone feel accepted. That certainly goes for Julia, a Muppet youngster with blazing red hair, bright green eyes — and autism. Rather than being treated like an outsider, which too often is the plight of kids on the spectrum, Julia is one of the gang. Look: On this friendliest of streets (actually Studio J at New York's Kaufman Astoria Studios, where "Sesame Street" lives) Julia is about...

Falls are taking a huge and rising toll on elderly brainsNEW YORK — Elderly people are suffering concussions and other brain injuries from falls at what appear to be unprecedented rates, according to a new report from U.S. government researchers. The reason for the increase isn't clear, the report's authors said. But one likely factor is that a growing number of elderly people are living at home and taking repeated tumbles, said one expert. "Many older adults are afraid their independence will be ta...

Cholesterol drug cuts heart risks, spurs new debate on costA long-acting cholesterol medicine cut the risk of having a heart attack or some other serious problems by 15 to 20 percent in a big study that's likely to spur fresh debate about what drugs should cost. Statins such as Lipitor and Crestor are cheap and lower LDL or bad cholesterol, but some people can't tolerate or get enough help from them. The new drug, Amgen's Repatha, is given as a shot once or twice a month and is part of a novel class o...